For us, chili is always the first dish that comes to mind when extreme cold weather strikes. This particular recipe produces a light, mildly spiced stew, but packs enough heat to warm you through when a polar vortex strikes! It has big bright tomato flavour, sweetness from the corn, heat from the cayenne, and lots of protein from the black beans. The light sauce, pulls it all together. It's not overly thick and rich – more like a hearty salsa; perfect for ladelling over these fluffy cornmeal pancakes..

salt and pepperSaute diced onion in olive oil for 3-5 minutes, until translucent. Add minced garlic and saute for another minute. Combine the cumin, oregano, garlic salt, paprika and cayenne pepper in a small dish then add to saute. Continue to saute for another minute. Add the diced tomatoes, black beans, chopped green pepper, tomato paste. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 mins. Add frozen corn and simmer for another 5 mins. Add salt and pepper to taste.Vegan Cornmeal Pancakes1 cup all purpose, or w/w flour1/2 cup corn meal3 1/2 tsp baking powder1 tbls sugar1 tsp salt1 cup unsweetened or original almond milk2 tsp apple cider vinegar (white vinegar is fine, if it's all you have on hand)3 tbls olive oilIn a medium to large sized bowl mix together the flour, cormeal, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, vinegar and oil. Make a well in the dry ingredient mix, and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a fork to gently combine. Do not over mix. Allow the batter to sit for approximately 10 minutes. Heat a bit of oil in a non stick pan. Spoon about a 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan, gently press into pancake form and cook over medium heat for about 2-3 mins until you begin to see small bubbles appear over the surface of the pancake. Once the bubbles appear, flip the pancake and cook for an additional 2 mins. Transfer to plate. This recipe yields approximately 8-10 medium sized pancakes.Adapted from IsaChandra Moskowitz' Puffy Pillow PancakesServe warm, topped with a generous ladle full of chili. We topped our chili with a dollop of velvety vegan cream cheese, which added just the right amount of creaminess and tanginess to the dish. Yum!